A Timely Dose of Jily
by SuperPotterWhoLocked Okay
Summary: A series of one-shots around James and Lily Potter, the wizarding worlds voted favourite couple of the year! Warning: It will be as canon as I can make it, but I will also try and make it as interesting as possible. Sometimes, the two don't mix. There will be some explicit language, and references to sexual activity, but I do not write smut. I never have and never will.
1. the one with the first meeting

**Okay, so I promise not to do this often. Thank you all so much for reading. It lifts my heart every time just one more person looks at even on chapter, and I'm always beaming and showing my friends and family, like the other day when I had 345 readers! 345! You guys are amazing, and I love you all.**  
 **Now, I'd like to ask you what you guys want me to write. Any time in James and Lily's lives - 1st to 7th year, after Hogwarts, before Hogwarts (if you want this, please mention which characters you want and what you want to happen-ish), or even AU!**  
 **Just tell me what you want, and I'll see what I can do.**  
 **Once more, thank you very much for reading, and I love you all.**  
 **Rosie aka LovelyDovely**

 **1st year - the one with the meeting**

 **Written 16th May 2015**

Lily bit her lip as she waved to her parents, who were stood at the platform, tears in their eyes as they waved goodbye to their youngest daughter. Although Lily was nearly shaking with nerves - what if no one liked her, or thought she was stupid because she came from a...-what was the word?-muggle family? -, she smiled and waved joyously to her parents, hiding her nerves at the idea of leaving them for a whole term - one whole term! How would she cope? - to attend a school that she hadn't known existed a year ago.  
To say she was freaking out was an understatement.  
But Lily Evans was strong. She didn't cry when she broke her arm after being pushed - that was the only time her accidental magic hadn't kicked in - and so she wouldn't cry now.  
Lily frowned as her parents disappeared from view, and the train chugged on, oblivious to her rather lonesome thoughts.  
A knock came from the glass door, and Lily turned to face it, eyes wide.  
'Who would want to sit with a stranger?' She thought curiously as she smiled at the dark haired girl who came into the compartment.  
"Hi, you looked lonely, and well, I am too - I can't find my friends, you see - so I thought I'd sit with you." The girl said quickly, her owl in hand, and Lily frowned. She'd noticed a lot of owls around the platform, and a lot of the students had owls too. Lily wondered why, as they were nocturnal animals, so weren't very good pets to have. She herself had gotten a cat, a beautiful black cat with one blue eye and one green eye. She felt proud over her superior pet buying skills, and she grinned at the girl, who seemed almost shocked at the other first year's quick acceptance of her.  
"Of course," Lily said quickly, and she helped the fellow first year put her luggage on the rail above them, and said after, "My name is Lily Evans." Her green eyes were bright, curious, and the other girl found herself liking this intriguing girl more and more.  
"I'm Marlene McKinnon, pleasure to meet you, Lily!" Marlene said, and Lily grinned.  
"Which house do you think you'll be sorted into?" Marlene asked, and Lily frowned.  
"House...umm... Sorry?" Lily said skeptically, and Marlene giggled, her brown eyes bright and friendly.  
"Sorry, I forgot that you're a muggleborn. There's a housing system at Hogwarts. Four houses representing four different characteristics or traits." Marlene explained quickly.  
"I vaguely remember Professor Slughorn talking about that, but he didn't explain it very well." Lily frowned. That was another thing she didn't know. She simply hadn't had a chance to read through Hogwarts: A History before the train ride, as she'd been reading her textbooks for class, so she felt at a sincere disadvantage, because evidently, everyone else had.  
"Well, the first - and best - house is Gryffindor. Set up by Godric Gryffindor himself, only for the brave and courageous at heart." Lily frowned. She didn't think that she was very courageous at all. "Then Slytherin. Set up by Salzaar Slytherin - and let me tell you that it's rumoured that Salzaar and Godric were best friends until they set up Hogwarts -, the house of Slytherin takes in the cunning. It's basically the house of evil families." Lily's eyes widened, soaking in every piece of information Marlene fed her. "Slytherin and Gryffindor house are long time rivals. My sister was a Gryffindor, and she got into loads of fights with Slytherins,"  
"Seriously?" Lily exclaimed, mouth agape, and Marlene laughed. "Did they expel her?"  
"No, of course not! Just took off loads of points from Gryffindor every time, and she spent most nights in detention." Marlene noticed Lily was going to ask about the points, and raised her hand, a knowing smirk on her face. "I'll explain that in a minute." Lily nodded.  
"Okay, so, there's Hufflepuff house too. Made by Helga Hufflepuff, they value loyalty over everything, although Helga said she'll accept anyone who is willing to try." Lily frowned. Although the house didn't seem to be a favourite - Lily could tell by the tone in Marlene's voice -, Lily couldn't help but feel like that was most likely to be her house. She was loyal, right? She stayed by Petunia when Petunia's friends betrayed her.  
"Finally, Ravenclaw, made by Helena Ravenclaw, this house is for those with a yearning to learn, and to further their knowledge, and it helps if you're witty too." Marlene glanced around, as though she was about to tell Lily a secret, and they leaned in simultaneously. "The door to their common room is held by a statue, which speaks riddles and you have to answer them right to enter." Marlene chuckled, and Lily smiled nervously along with her.  
The idea of houses made her nervous, and she realised that, in order to find out which house she'd be placed in, they'd have to figure out which trait was most prominent.  
"How do they sort us?" Lily asked urgently, and Marlene laughed.  
"It's not some big test, if that's what you're wondering." Marlene laughed, and Lily visibly relaxed, causing Marlene to laugh even more. "They put an enchanted hat on our head, which tells us where we'll go." Once more, Marlene leant in, and Lily followed, enraptured by learning about this whole new world. It was nothing like this at her middle school. They didn't even have houses there!  
"I heard, that if you swear at the hat, it automatically puts you in Slytherin." Marlene pulled a face, and Lily laughed along with her.  
"So, which house?" Marlene asked seriously, and Lily frowned.  
"I think I only just fit Hufflepuff. Although, I am eager to learn, so maybe Ravenclaw?" Marlene nodded, and responded enthusiastically.  
"If I'm not Gryffindor, I will tear that hat to shreds and scream from the highest point in the castle that I am a a Gryffindor." Marlene and Lily laughed loudly, Lily's green eyes lighting up as they did.  
A second knock from the door came, and Lily looked up mid-laugh. To her great joy, she saw Severus.  
"Sev! It's great to see you!" Lily exclaimed, pulling her best friend into the compartment with her. "Marlene, this is Severus Snape. Sev, this is Marlene McKinnon."  
Marlene smiled at Severus, who smiled back tentatively. "We know each other briefly," Marlene said quietly, and Lily paused, her euphoria wearing off and she sensed the tension that was increasing in the room.  
"My mother dragged me to a wizarding event so that she could meet a friend of hers." Severus explained. "There, I met Marlene." He explained, his voice also quiet.  
Lily frowned, and said to them both, "I can tell that you don't like each other, but Marlene, I've known Sev since I was like 4. Sev, Marlene seems really nice." She addressed both her friends, saying firmly, "if you fight, don't drag me into it. And please try to get along for me?" She asked, and Marlene cautiously nodded, Sev nodded carefully also.  
This caused Lily to beam at her two friends, and they grinned back, both happy to see Lily smile. They looked across to one another, and a moment of understanding passed between the two. Marlene understood that Lily was important to Sev, and that he wanted to see her happy. Sev saw, that, as Marlene was Lily's new girl friend, she wanted to make Lily happy.  
They would try to get along, for Lily's sake.  
The train ride passed faster than Lily thought it would, what with them being trapped on the train for nearly 8 hours, but with her two friends, she decided that the saying 'time flies when you're having fun' must be true.  
When she stepped off the train, she was encountered by the same man who'd helped her from the beginning of her journey into witchcraft and wizardry.  
"Professor Slughorn!" Lily exclaimed as she went up to the professor.  
"Ah, Lily Evans, was it?" Lily nodded enthusiastically, and he grinned at her. "Well, Miss. Evans, you and your friends should get to a boat. You wouldn't want to have to swim across the lake." He teased, and Lily grinned, nodding happily. He smiled at the girl as she dragged her two slightly reluctant friends to the large wooden boats, which held five people on board.  
Lily, Marlene and Sev found a boat that needed just three more people to get in, and so they jumped in. Lily smiled and introduced herself to the two boys.  
"Pleasure to meet you Lily, my name's Sirius Black, soon to be traitor to the family name!" He exclaimed, and his friend next to him chuckled wildly.  
"So hilarious Sirius," he joked, and Lily smiled at the obviously developing dynamic between the two boys. "I, my dear Lily-flower, am James Charles Potter, your boyfriend to be!" He said, and he slid across the boat to sit next to Lily.  
"Umm," Lily hummed, uncomfortable with the lack of distance, "how about no?" She said, and she glanced at Marlene, who was laughing at Lily's odd predicament. "I mean, I don't know who you are. Not really."  
"But you will if you get to know me, Evans!" He exclaimed, and he leant forward, his eyebrows dancing.  
"But I don't want to, Potter," Lily smiled at James' shocked expression and turned to Sev as the boats started moving, causing several people to shriek in shock. Lily gazed at the boat in awe, touching the wood, realising that she was sat on an enchanted boat, which moved without anyone doing anything! Well, Lily supposed there was a spell for it, so someone had done something, but she didn't know it, and it made the magic behind her first day feel all the more real.  
James stared at the cute red headed girl in front of him, her green eyes dancing in the lantern light, her hair shimmering like fire, her skin ablaze with the warm flush of excitement.  
His heart fluttered as he saw the smile coating her face when Hogwarts came into view, and he smiled as well. His stomach clenched when she laughed at something Marlene had said, butterflies swimming around there.  
He decided then and there that he liked Lily. His young, eleven-year-old mind would never understand the concept of love, nor would it believe that this was the girl he would marry, and have a son with, but it could deal with liking a girl, and the hope that she'd like him back.  
Although, this was only one of the many times that James would ask her out. But he didn't know that.


	2. the one where she doesn't know something

**1st year - the one where she doesn't know something**

 **Written 17th November 2014**

Lily Evans sighed as she stared at the empty sheet of parchment perched precariously on her lap, quill in one hand, Herbology book in the other. The title had been written in the neatest writing Lily could manage, but no ideas were coming to her. How was she supposed to write about a plant she had never heard of? She felt at such a disadvantage, as she was supposed to write about a plant called Monkshood, yet she simply couldn't find it in her Herbology textbook.

"Evans!" Lily nearly dropped her quill in shock, thankful when she didn't, but she groaned when she saw ink smeared across her parchment.

"Potter, how can I help you?" She asked, and she placed her quill carefully on the table as she turned to face James Potter, the boy who simply would not take a hint.

"Well, I'd love to take you on a date, but we might have to save that for the weekend." He winked at her, and Lily couldn't stop her cheeks from flaring up as red as her hair as she turned away.

"However, as a matter of fact, I would not appreciate that, Potter." She said, "now can you leave me alone so I can do my Herbology essay?"

"The essay which has nothing written down and a load of ink splotches over it?" He asked, and Lily turned to glare at him.

"That was your fault." She declared, and he smiled sheepishly.

"Maybe, so let me help you." He vaulted over the back of the couch, and landed neatly next to Lily, who's hair had flown into her face from the movement. She huffed impatiently as James pulled out his wand, and she pulled her hair out her face and watched him.

"There's a spell for this," James told her, and Lily listened, almost trusting the other first year, "Tergeo!"

The ink disappeared.

"Thank you," Lily said earnestly, and she smiled at James, who grinned back.

"A kiss would be wonderful as a thank you!" James said, and Lily scowled, grabbed a cushion and hit him over the head.

Sirius Black and Remus Lupin sat in the corner of the Gryffindor common room, both pretending to pour studiously over their books, but were secretly making a bet.

"I reckon he'll screw things up so bad, she won't get with him until we're in Seventh year. Fifteen galleons." Sirius Black told Remus, who smirked.

He replied with, "I bet they'll get together by fifth. Ten galleons."

The two boys shook hands and Remus wrote it down on a piece of parchment, which the two boys signed, and the bet was sealed.

"Potter?" Lily asked tentatively, a few minutes later when James had been quietly staring into the fire. At his name, however, he immediately turned to Lily, a large grin on his face.

"Yes, my sweet Lily?" He asked, and Lily snickered, but continued.

"What's a Monkshood? I've been looking in our Herbology textbook for over half an hour, but there seems to be no mention of a Monkshood!" Lily exclaimed, exasperated.

James paused for a minute, surveying Lily's face, as though waiting for her to say she was joking. Just as Lily was about to give up and go ask Remus, who seemed to be studiously pouring over a book behind them, James burst out into laughter.

Lily flushed, her cheeks as red as her hair, and she grabbed the pillow next to her and hit him over the head, which caused him to stop laughing quite abruptly. James gasped for breath, and Lily hummed in annoyance.

"I'll just go ask Remus then!" She harrumphed and stood, but James grabbed her wrist and pulled her back onto the couch next to him.

"No, sorry, it was just so unexpected." He still struggled to breathe, and Lily sat impatiently, waiting for him to answer the question.

"So? What's a Monkshood?" Lily asked, and James couldn't help the few chuckles that escaped, but this time he answered it.

"Monkshood is the original name given to Wolfsbane," hearing this, Lily shut her eyes in annoyance with herself. She remembered hearing that in class yesterday afternoon. "The monks in the 1000s gave it the name, as it was used to clear out the smells in their hoods."

"Great, thanks James." Lily said, and she turned back to her work and flipped her book to the right page. She got to work.

James sat there for a moment, watching as Lily switched from friendly to studious in less than a minute. Her fire hair fell around her shoulders, and she tucked some of it behind her ear, to prevent it falling into her work. Her eyes glided effortlessly over the words in their textbook and she occasionally stopped to write things down on the parchment.

Sirius Black tapped James' shoulder, who jumped and turned to face the boy. "You're a bloody stalker, doing that mate!" He whispered.

"Doing what?" James asked. He glanced back to Lily, but she was too absorbed in her work to see what they were doing.

"Staring at her!" Sirius chuckled and James' cheeks turned warm red.

"I'm admiring her!" He claimed, but Sirius shook his head.

"Get out while you have your jewels, mate." He advised, and James and he scurried off, leaving Lily on the couch in the common room by the fire.


	3. the one where he begins his apology

**5th year - the one where he begins his apology**

 **Written 16th November**

Lightning cracked outside the window as rain pelted the glass panes, each drop desperate to be noticed, to have an impact on the window they hit, before they converged into one and slid into merry streams falling down the panes, stopped only by the glue holding the glass together. Lily Evans sat in the window seat, school uniform rumpled from running and sitting in a terribly uncomfortable position, her red hair hiding her face from her peers' view. Never in her life had Lily Evans felt so embarrassed. For there was no word to describe how she felt in that moment. He had embarrassed her beyond anything her young life had experienced. Lily clutched her wand tightly in her left hand as she thought back to the moment, and more tears left reddened emerald eyes the more she thought of it. Her knuckles turned white as she clenched, and her hand shook from the exertion, until the strength left her together with a crack of lightning. Lily was almost surprised the weather changed so quickly from earlier - it had been such a lovely afternoon with Alice and Frank, although she had admittedly felt similar to a third wheel, only for thunder clouds to darken the skies, following her mood, almost - but Lily supposed the static electricity in the air had overcharged, causing the lightning to break out.

Lily couldn't help but blame one person. If he hadn't been there, hurting him, then her friend wouldn't have snapped. It's all because of him. He started it, and now Lily was left, crying her eyes out pitifully. She gnawed on the inside of her lip as she funnelled her embarrassment into anger, tasting blood as she did so, but not caring, as it fuelled her fury.

She heard the familiar voices, the group that always stayed together. The group that caused this...this...this humiliation. That was the word for it. Embarrassment was too subtle. Lily Evans was humiliated.

Speak of the devil, she couldn't help but think, almost mockingly, and the devil shall come.

She heard the footsteps stop, not too far behind her. She heard murmured whisperings, but didn't care to listen. Three people walked away, but the one she most profoundly did not want to see stayed.

He knew she knew he was there. He knew how she felt. He knew he was the last person she would want to see. Still, he was brave. He may as well have been Godric Gryffindor himself, for how brave he was being. For none wanted to withstand Lily Evans temper.

The silence remained. Lily said nothing. He said nothing. She couldn't help but feel loathing to the boy, who caused her school wide humiliation. He's probably here to brag about how he taught him a lesson, Lily thought snidely, and how I can finally see what he really is.

"Lily?" He stepped closer, and she flinched. She gripped a pink cushion underneath her, wishing she could hit the boy with it in front of the whole school, over, and over, and over, until he felt an ounce of what she felt, until he felt the smallest amount of humiliation for what he had done. She wanted to hurt him, to make him pay for the pain he had caused both her friend and herself.

Should I even refer to him as that? She wondered. Does he have the right to be called friend?

Lily decided that now he didn't.

"Lily, I'm sorry." His voice cracked. Her ears listened tentatively, waiting for him to say the words he would never say. "I don't know how to make this better," he paused, "I'm really sorry for whatever part you think I had in this."

Lily breathed deeply. He never said the right things. He never apologised correctly. But Lily supposed this was all she was going to get.

He took a closer step, and Lily hugged the window, her anger now fled, replaced by further humiliation. Humiliation that he had to see her like this, that she let herself get into this state in such a public place.

He sighed, and Lily could picture him running a hand through his hair in anxiousness. He coughed then, obviously able to feel the tension rising, her anger and humiliation tangible in the air.

"But, come on Lily, the bastard deserved it, what he said to you," he paused, breathed deeply, as though he had the right to be upset.

Lily turned to face him, her hair falling away from her red face as she stared up at him, her eyes bloodshot and puffy, glistening tears still following tear stains on her cheeks.

"You bloody bastard." She breathed slowly, her eyes tearing up again, from anger which blossomed in her stomach and flew through every artery, fuelling her movements and fury as she spoke louder. "Severus was a good man. He didn't deserve anything that you dealt him!" She cried, her hands shook, and she looked away, unable to look at him any longer. "Don't even speak. James Potter, you, who claims to adore me, who claims to think the world of me, pushed Severus to his breaking point, and now look at what you've done." She snivelled, and wiped away a few tears. "You've humiliated him. Humiliated yourself. And you've humiliated me." Her voice broke, and she faced the window. Lightning cracked as thunder boomed through the night.

James watched, his hands open, and partially reached for her, almost as though he wanted to grasp her shaking form and comfort her, take away all her pain. Guilt wallowed deeply in his stomach, and his hazel eyes glistened with tears as he watched his Lily Evans turn away from him in disgust.

"I don't think I hate you." She murmured after a few minutes in silence. James struggled to catch the words, his ears straining for more. "I used to, I know I did. I thought you the bottom of a very long list of less than delightful people, James. But now? I pity you. I can't help but pity you, and I don't know why, because all you seem to do is humiliate me, and make me suffer. And that probably isn't your intention, James, but it doesn't make you any less of an insufferable toe-rag." Lily took a steadying breath and looked once more at him. His eyes were swimming, with unshed tears and words he wished to say.

"Petunia used to make me feel like the worst person in the world. My own sister. Every muggle thing we did together, she always showed me up, but I knew why. Jealousy of me, of what I have become. I grew to pity her, because I knew why she hated me. But that didn't mean she treated me any less differently."

"I'm not your sister, Lily. I swear, I didn't want to hurt you." James begged, and he blinked, unknowingly letting a tear slip down his cheek. "Snive-Snape," he corrected himself, he knew Lily didn't like the nickname, "he's a death eater, he works for Lord Voldemort, Lily! He, someone you called a best friend! He doesn't deserve you, Lily! You deserve better!" James cried. Lily glared at him, her breaths short as she tried to contain her anger. "He called you a mudblood. No true friend does that."

"Don't you dare judge him. He was forced to become a death eater! He told me the night he was given it." Lily held a hand to her mouth as she remembered it, her face screwing up in sadness as she remembered the state her best friend had arrived in. As she remembered the pain and misery coated across his face when he arrived on her doorstep, left arm bleeding. He had begged her not to take him to St. Mungos. He had begged so hard, cried for the first time in years, and she couldn't deny him in that state.

James tried to approach when Lily let out a whimper, and tears streamed faster down her face, remembering times they had helped each other, times they had been there.

"You had to ruin it, didn't you?" Lily whispered, unable to make more than a small sound. "You had to break him past repair." She wheezed in a breath, and gripped the wall next to her for support.

"Lily, please, can't you forgive me? Tell me what I did wrong." He demanded, and he walked in front of her, making sure she could see the integrity in his eyes, hear the passion in his voice. "Tell me how to fix this." His voice broke, and he looked down. "Tell me if I can't. If I have truly scuppered any chance of even being friends."

"Maybe, one day, I will forgive you. One day I'll forgive Severus. But not today. You bullied him, for doing what?" She waited for a response that she knew wouldn't come. "For doing nothing. He was an easy target, wasn't he? The only way you might fix this, fix my relationship with Sev, fix how humiliated I feel, is by apologising. Apologise for everything you have done to Severus. Maybe I can forgive then." Lily wiped away the last of her tears and walked away, her head held high as other students in the corridors spoke of how Lily had broken down in front of half her year, because of a Slytherin.

James stood still, unable to move from the words Lily had said.

'Maybe I can forgive then.' Those words kept circulating his mind, all he could think of was that he might be able to have Lily, even just as a friend. That would be all he needed. He only needed his Lily-flower to like him. He could deal with that.

He would apologise, and then he would fix Lily, he would stop the school talking about her, he would do everything in his power to help her forgive him.

He couldn't help himself. Even his pride didn't matter.

Because he was in love with Lily Evans.


	4. the one where she begins to forgive

**5th year - the one where she begins to forgive**

 **Written 20th April 2015**

It had been more than a month since Lily had talked to James. March had turned into April, and soon, the Easter holidays would be upon Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Lily Evans sat with her friends Alice and Marlene in the Great Hall at dinner time.

Ever since that fateful day outside the main entrance, Lily hadn't slept well. She would wake up in the middle of the night, remembering how the word 'mudblood' had slipped from Snape's lips, and struck her. Whenever she woke up from that, she would walk down to the common room, and lay on the couch. The fire would ignite itself, and a blanket would lift itself over her, and she would be back asleep in minutes, but more peacefully. She wondered if they were charmed to do that, but hadn't gotten around to discovering if they were.

"Ahem." A loud cough came from down the table, and Lily found herself looking down at fellow Gryffindor Sirius Black, and he was looking around the hall with intent. The professors looked over amusedly, and didn't stop him.

"My fellows Hogwartians, it is a true pleasure to see you all this fine April evening." He began. The remaining noise quietened down, and Sirius smiled, his eyes glinting in the candle light.

"Now, I am sure you are all aware of the situation that occurred just over a month ago, concerning myself, my fellow marauders, Lily Evans and Snivellus Snape. Oops, sorry Lily, Severus." There were a few chuckles.

As Sirius spoke, Lily felt herself tensing, all her muscles screaming at her to run from the room and escape the school wide humiliation once more. Lily went to stand, but Alice grabbed her arm tightly, keeping Lily held to her spit on the bench.

"Alice, let me go. I don't want to hear this." Lily whispered, her eyes already tearing up as she thought of the embarrassment that was sure to come from this.

"You do. I promise." Alice said softly, and Lily glared, but sat in her seat, knowing she wouldn't escape if Alice wanted her to stay there.

"Now, this situation has yet to be resolved. I have my friend James Potter here to say a few words." Sirius sat down and clasped James' shoulder.

"I really hate you Sirius Black." James said as he stood on the bench. "Okay. I am a prat. I am an ungrateful prat who does not deserve any amount of the attention that you all give me. And I was a bully. I have bullied Sn-Severus Snape since our first year here at Hogwarts. And I am proud to say that I am ashamed of that. I am thoroughly and deeply ashamed of everything that I have put Severus through. So, in order to make amends, I thought I would publicly humiliate myself." James looked down at Remus and nodded. Lily watched the exchange, her stomach clenching as she wondered what he had planned.

Remus waved his wand, and in front of everyone in the great hall appeared a photo album. It was labelled 'Little James Potter'.

"My mum made these, so Merlin knows what's in it." James said, as chuckles started to ring through the hall. Lily snuck a glance at the album, which Alice and Marlene were laughing over, and giggled when she saw the familiar small boy running around a large living room, wearing a long red wig and a pink frilly dress.

As Lily started to laugh at the pictures, she didn't notice how, down the table, James Potter himself was staring at her, happy to see the tired emerald eyes light up with laughter like they had before he screwed everything up. He smiled slightly, as Sirius chortled loudly, flicking through the photo album of James' baby photos.

Later that evening, Lily sat in the common room, a grin on her face as Alice made a comment on one of the photos from the album. The roaring fire accentuated all her features, and made her green eyes shine like the emerald she was. Her own fiery red hair was tied back after it refused to agree with the hairbrush.

James sat across the room from her, his chin in his hand as he stared at her. His face was shrouded partly in darkness, and his hazel eyes glinted with an emotion that many couldn't understand at their young age.

Lily laughed again at something Marlene said, and she glanced around the room, until her eyes landed on James. Just as she had for the past few weeks, Lily tensed slightly, her smile fading slightly as she looked at him. Then, building up the courage that she held deep in her, she sent a small smile his way, her eyes earnest.

James' heart twisted as he smiled back at her. His stomach clenched and his heart raced as she continued to watch him, still sending that heart warming smile his way.

Until Alice said something that caught her attention, and her pale skin was flaming red, and she looked at her friends, sending the playful glare towards them, and it didn't make her look any less beautiful.

James sighed as he watched her interact with her friends again.

That was the beginning. He had felt it in the smile she gave him. He didn't know how he knew it: he just did.

And Lily Evans' forgiveness was all he wanted now. And maybe, just maybe, if he played his cards right, she would forgive him. He'd be more mature, stop being an arrogant toe-rag, and he would become deserving of Lily.

Because Lily deserved nothing but the best, and he wanted to be the best for her.


End file.
